Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-25

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart below shows what Anthropology graduates from one university did after finishing their undergraduate degree course. The table shows the salaries of the anthropologists in work after five years.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparison where relevant.

Student answer (Band 4.5)

The pie chart illustrates that anthropology graduates after completing their BS what they can do. This pie chart show us the pay off they will receive in five years.

Overall, full-time work accounted for highest salary in future while, part-time work + postgraduate study considerably giving lowest pay back. In addition, part-time work and unemployed have a minor difference whereas full-time postgraduate study and part time work + post graduate study having very less anthropology graduates.

In full-time work, most of the anthropology graduates doing full time job also this pie chart shows that 52%. which was almost half of the pie chart. Part-time work that is the second highest number of the chart that tells us 15% anthropology graduates doing part-time work. The third is Unemployed 12% of the anthropology graduates should be unemployed.

Full-time postgraduates study and not known remains stable because both having 8%. In contrast, part time- work + post graduates study at 5%, this the smallest destination of anthropology graduates from one university.

In conclusion, this table just illustrates

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response3.5
Coherence and Cohesion4.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall4.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response identifies several destinations and reports most of their percentages accurately, including full-time work at 52%, unemployment at 12%, and the smallest category at 5%. However, the task also requires reporting the salary table, and this is almost entirely omitted: the opening claim about future pay is not supported by any salary figures or comparisons. The overview is also inaccurate when it says full-time work “accounted for highest salary”; 52% is the largest destination share, not a salary outcome. The comparison that part-time work and unemployment have a minor difference is relevant, but the response does not summarise the main salary patterns. To improve, cover both visuals and distinguish graduate destinations from earnings after five years.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is some organisation: the response begins with an introduction, gives an overview, and then describes several destination categories in a separate paragraph. This helps the reader follow the pie-chart information. However, progression is weakened by the abrupt final line, “In conclusion, this table just illustrates,” which is unfinished and adds no summary. The overview also mixes destination proportions with salary outcomes, making the relationship between the visuals unclear. Linking phrases such as “In contrast” are used, but the response relies on a list-like sequence of categories rather than grouping information into meaningful comparisons. A clearer structure would introduce both visuals, summarise the main features of each, and then compare the relevant figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some task-related vocabulary, including “graduates,” “unemployed,” “full-time postgraduate study,” and “accounted for,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, word choice and collocation are often imprecise or repetitive. Phrases such as “what they can do,” “pay off they will receive,” and “pay back” do not accurately describe graduate destinations or salary bands. “Remains stable” is also unsuitable for categories that simply have equal proportions. These choices sometimes make the intended meaning difficult to interpret, particularly in the overview. Aim for precise chart language such as “destination,” “proportion,” “salary range,” and “earned,” and avoid repeating “this pie chart shows” when reporting figures.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentence forms, but control is inconsistent, and errors frequently affect clarity. For example, “This pie chart show us” has subject–verb disagreement, while “after completing their BS what they can do” has an unclear clause structure. The sentence beginning “Overall” contains a faulty construction (“part-time work + postgraduate study considerably giving lowest pay back”), and several later clauses lack a complete or correctly connected verb, as in “Full-time postgraduates study and not known remains stable because both having 8%.” Capitalisation and punctuation are also unreliable, including the sentence fragment after “52%.” Use shorter, complete sentences with clear subjects and verbs, then check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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